Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Gabriel McKay

Celtic penalty debate rages as Steven Naismith contradicts baffled Michael Stewart over St Mirren flashpoint

Michael Stewart was left baffled by Celtic's penalty against St Mirren, as the pundit insisted there was "nothing in" the supposed foul.

Hearts striker Steven Naismith, though, believes the decision was cut and dry.

In the late stages of Celtic's win in Paisley, left-back Greg Taylor went down under the attentions of Ryan Flynn, which allowed Odsonne Edouard to double his side's lead from the penalty spot.

That put Celtic in control heading into the final ten minutes and they eventually won 4-0, with Ryan Christie and David Turnbull adding to the scoreline.

But there was some debate over the decision to award the penalty with some fans and pundits feeling contact was minimal.

Stewart, speaking on BBC Sportscene, is one of those dissenting voices.

Sitting alongside fellow pundit Craig Gordon he said: "It's not a penalty, let's be perfectly honest.

"There is nothing in this. I don't think either of us think that's a penalty.

"You're playing football, there is going to be physical contact between players.

"That there: there's no push, there's no pull, there's not a clip.

Greg Taylor went down under pressure from Ryan Flynn (SNS Group)

"So for Don Robertson to give that as a penalty kick was extremely harsh."

Naismith, though, sees things differently, as he later weighed in with his two cents.

The striker, who occasionally does punditry work alongside Stewart, reckons the contact was more than enough to justify the decision - arguing Flynn fell into the trap of the wily Taylor.

He told PLZ: "When he's running at that pace to get into the box, it doesn't take much to knock him off balance.

"So I'd say it was a penalty. With the footage you get, you don't necessarily see the full thing.

"People might say it's soft but it is what it is. He's put himself in a position where the defender is having to react and knows he's in trouble.

"He reacts and for me it is a penalty."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.